Commuting Survey Launches Today, June 23

Did you know that, on average, Americans spend more than 440 hours per year behind the wheel? That’s the equivalent of 55 work days per year, which isn’t just time on the road but also money out of our pockets. In fact, most of us in the Pacific Northwest spend more than $9,000 a year on transportation, making it the second largest household expense. That also means more traffic congestion, energy consumption and air pollution.

To ease traffic, improve air quality and decrease energy consumption, Washington adopted a law in 1991 known as the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) law. Companies with 100 or more employees arriving to work between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. are identified as major employers and are therefore required to participate in the CTR program, encouraging employees to find alternatives to driving alone. This could include carpooling, riding the bus, walking/biking to work, telecommuting and more, at least one or two days per week. Just imagine what carpooling alone could do not only for the environment but also to monthly household expenses. It could mean less money on transportation and more funding for that future vacation you’ve been wanting to go on.

In addition to understanding the importance we can all make in finding other alternatives for our commute one or two days a week, the CTR law requires that employers provide a survey every two years to all day-shift employees to identify trends in commuting. We are required to have at least a 70 percent response rate to be in compliance.

Today, we will distribute the survey to those caregivers who meet the criteria for participation. Please make sure you complete this very important survey by Friday, June 27.

If you have any questions, please contact Bo Bodrak, Director of Safety and Security at 425-261-3912.